The Division of Egypt: Threats of US, Israeli, and NATO Military Intervention?

by Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya from Global Research. (I presume this is part 2 following part 1.)

The White House and Tel Aviv do not want a second Iran in the Middle East. They will do whatever they can to prevent the emergence of a strong and independent Egypt.

A free Egypt could prove to be a much bigger threat than non-Arab Iran within the Arab World to the objectives of the U.S., Israel, and NATO.

I thoroughly agree with these statements. They, the US and Israel (and NATO?) will do everything they can to prevent a true popular government from taking power in Egypt. The liberal commentators in the US are far too optimistic and celebratory about real progressive changes ahead for Egypt. For example, Tom Engelhardt writes:

...part of the spectacle of the moment lies in watching that other great power of the Cold War era finally head ever so slowly and reluctantly for the exits.  You know the one I'm talking about.  In 1991, when the Soviet Union disappeared and the United States found itself the last superpower standing, Washington mistook that for a victory most rare.  In the years that followed, in a paroxysm of self-satisfaction and amid clouds of self-congratulation, its leaders would attempt nothing less than to establish a global Pax Americana.  Their breathtaking ambitions would leave hubris in the shade.

The results, it's now clear, were no less breathtaking, even if disastrously so.  Almost 20 years after the lesser superpower of the Cold War left the world stage, the "victor" is now lurching down the declinist slope, this time as the other defeated power of the Cold War era.

US Envoy's Business Link to Egypt

by Robert Fisk from The Independent. 

I doubt that very many people in Egypt and the Middle East were shocked by this incident. I suspect that it is mostly Western journalists and progressives who are shocked. The people in the Middle East have witnessed first hand the many contradictions of official US political propaganda and the realities on the ground. It is mostly people in the West who do not experience the brutal consequences of the Empire's policies that have a difficult time reconciling the contradictions.

See, for example, the NY Times spin that American policy is "complicated". 

It is only complicated because the contradictions are surfacing in some of the mainstream press and the official political apparatus. The Obama administration, has to work overtime trying to cover with democratic rhetoric the real imperial operations of the Empire. Although the capitalist ruling class will continue to maintain a democratic political facade as long as possible, they are perfectly capable of moving into fascism by putting into full operation the police state apparatus that now exists in the US.

Progressives in the US must grow out of all the indoctrination they have been subject to about the formal political institutions in the US. They must begin to see it as an elaborate facade, much like that of a stage play, designed to distract people from the real events that the ruling class tries to hide from view. Obama, Clinton, and the most of the official political figures are little more than mere actors who are hired by the capitalist ruling class to focus our attention on the stage play and away from real events. 

People like Frank Wisner II are often the real political operatives representing the capitalist class, and who really influence events. They mostly function behind the scenes in complete secrecy; but every once in a while, they come into public view as this fellow has, although very briefly, during the Egyptian crisis. His father, Frank Wisner, was a key figure at the beginning of the CIA and headed many of its most nefarious activities.

American Police State: FBI Abuses Reveals Contempt for Political Rights, Civil Liberties

by Tom Burghardt from Antifascist Calling. 

As mass revolt spreads across Egypt and the Middle East and citizens there demand jobs, civil liberties and an end to police state abuses from repressive, U.S.-backed torture regimes, the Obama administration and their congressional allies aim to expand one right here at home.

Why I call myself a socialist

by Wallace Shawn from War in Context. (You may want to skip the introduction and scroll down to the essay entitled, "Are you smarter than Thomas Jefferson?" in which he explains why he is a socialist.)

Wallace Shawn is an Obie Award–winning playwright and noted stage and screen actor. He is co-author of the film My Dinner with André and author of the plays The Fever, Aunt Dan and Lemon, The Designated Mourner, and Grasses of a Thousand Colors.

Our capacity to fantasize about other people and to believe our own fantasies makes it possible for us to enjoy this valuable art form, theater. But unfortunately it’s a capacity which has brought incalculable harm and suffering to human beings.

American Warships Heading to Egypt

from Washington's Blog. 

While Obama and Hilliary make noises about democracy and human rights for public consumption, the mailed fist is brought out to deal with the crisis in the Middle East. And you won't see this covered much in mainstream media, and if it is, it will be for humanitarian purposes only! From Wikipedia we learn:

Kearsarge is fully capable of amphibious assault, advance force and special purpose operations, as well as non-combatant evacuation and other humanitarian missions. Since her commissioning, she has performed these missions the world over, including...the 1999 NATO bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, as a platform for bombing missions against Serb forces in Operation Allied Force....

Revolution: Is 1848 Repeating Itself in the Arab World? PART I

by Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya from Global Research.

This is a very sound history of the dominance of the capitalist class over Western societies. And it very well may be true that "Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it." So read it so that we don't continue to repeat this awful history.

...democracies can be managed and manipulated. Since 1848, the capitalist class has managed to hinder genuine democracy in all its forms, while promoting kleptocracy. Big capital has always managed to carve a place for itself at the helms of the state and has managed to maintain itself through the mercy of liberalism.

Roots of the Egyptian Revolutionary Moment

from The Real News an interview with Mohammed Ezzeldin who is "a graduate of political science from Cairo University, and is doing his Masters' Degree in History at Georgetown University." 

This is somewhat dated in the fast moving developments of the Egyptian revolution, but very relevant because the interviewee provides a lot of recent history leading up to this event.

The death of Israeli [fake] democracy

by Mya Guarnieri from Al Jazeera. 

While Egyptians demand real democracy, Israel's right-wing is moving their country in the direction of fascism. 

At an October protest against legislation commonly referred to as the loyalty oath - a bill that would require non-Jews seeking Israeli citizenship to pledge allegiance to a "Jewish and democratic" state - Gavriel Solomon, a prominent academic and peace activist, likened Israel to Nazi Germany, circa 1935.

That was the year that the Nuremberg Laws - racist legislation that led to the systematic and deadly persecution of Jews - were created.

"There were no [concentration] camps yet but there were racist laws," he said. "And we are heading towards these kinds of laws."

Interview with an Egyptian Protester

by anonymous from InfoShop News. 

This Egyptian activist provides some excellent information on street level tactics using electronic media as well as the general experience of activists in the current effort to overthrow their government. 

End Game in Egypt

by Stephen Lendman from OpEd News. 

The author surveys the history of old, oppressive regimes being toppled by popular demand, followed by new ones, often with capitalist collusion, only to submit once again to the discipline of the international banks. Hence, he is rather pessimistic about real changes in Egypt and nearby countries. 

Workers suffer painfully from neoliberal harshness, often hardened by IMF diktats, including mass privatizations, layoffs, wage and benefit cuts, and public debt service over people needs, causing massive impoverishment and human suffering. Replacing one regime with another with this agenda leaves deep-rooted misery unaddressed.

I share his fears. The Empire has a tight relationship with Egyptian military leaders, most of whom received a lot training in the US. This is the same model the US has been using throughout Latin America in the last 40 years, and only in the past decade have we seen much more independence in that area. It appears to me that the Egyptian people can succeed only if they win the allegiance of lower ranking officers, or if a Chavez-like general emerges to champion the cause of the people. 

Only when the scourge of capitalism is removed from the Earth will people really be able to organize their economies to serve their needs. The system not only preys on people, but on the Earth's ecosystem with the same devastating results. Thus, it is no longer only a matter of social justice, it has become a matter of human survival that is now at stake if we allow capitalism to continue. The extreme weather we currently witnessing across the globe are only the early signs of climate change. Let us pray that it is not too late.

The Egyptian Tinderbox: How Banks and Investors Are Starving the Third World

by Ellen Brown from OpEd News. 

The author explains how Goldman-Sachs and other capitalist casino players are getting rich using the new derivative bets while many people starve in the world.

Underlying the sudden, volatile uprising in Egypt and Tunisia is a growing global crisis sparked by soaring food prices and unemployment. The Associated Press reports that roughly 40 percent of Egyptians struggle along at the World Bank-set poverty level of under $2 per day. Analysts estimate that food price inflation in Egypt is currently at an unsustainable 17 percent yearly. In poorer countries, as much as 60 to 80 percent of people's incomes go for food, compared to just 10 to 20 percent in industrial countries. An increase of a dollar or so in the cost of a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread for Americans can mean starvation for people in Egypt and other poor countries.

Time out

Interview with an anarcho-communist activist in Freedom Square in Cairo

by NEFAC International Secretary from Anarkismo.

The anarchist interviewee provides his political perspective and street-level view of the revolutionary events in Egypt.

The most difficult obstacle Egyptian revolutionaries face is the cutting of communications. Western revolutionaries must put pressure on their governments to prevent the Egyptian regime from doing this. That's for now, but no-one can say what will happen in the long term. If the revolution is successful, then Western revolutionaries must build solidarity with their Egyptian comrades against the expected aggression from the USA and Israel. If the revolution is defeated, then it will be a massacre for all Egyptian revolutionaries. 

Echoes from Tunisia and Egypt: Revolutions Without Self-Proclaimed Revolutionaries

 by Horace Campbell from All Africa.      

About Horace Campbell
















This scholarly specialist in African affairs examines the current African revolution now in progress and argues that they have some unique 21st century characteristics that have been built upon the legacy of 20th century revolutions.

 1) The revolutions are made by ordinary people independent of vanguard parties and self-proclaimed revolutionaries

2) The nature of independent networks of networks and the sophistication of the tools of the revolution

3) The leadership of ordinary people who displayed self-mobilisation for the revolution

4) The building of revolutionary non-violence for self-defence

5) The revolutionary ideas of the people whose ultimate goal is to be dignified human beings and not to be dictators' robots or zealots.

Notice: This week I am taking some time off for relaxation in order to refresh my mental faculties. Hence my posting will be fewer in number, but I will try to post at least one article every day. I should be back tomorrow (Saturday Febr. 5) in full force.

Egypt's Democratic Uprising Exposes the U.S. Corporate Welfare Scheme of Military 'Foreign Aid'
by Ernest A. Canning from The Brad Blog via Amped Status.

William Blum's observations regarding the Egyptian uprising.

The Revolution in Egypt: The End of the New Pharaohs?

by a dissident exiled in North Africa from Infoshop News. 

Unfortunately, the article starts out with a couple of paragraphs repeating themselves; but nevertheless, the article is very thought provoking regarding the meaning of the events in North Africa and nearby areas.

No event occurs in a vacuum; events originate in concrete conditions, and consequently they tend to come in waves. The events in Egypt show that the center of revolutionary impetus is no longer “the West”; this new age of revolution will culminate first in areas where the living conditions are becoming unbearable and the ways of life are not yet completely colonized by capital. However, it would be a mistake to see this as merely the conclusion of an unfinished anti-colonial revolt. It is something much bigger and deeper. The financial crisis is a sign that capitalism is on a declining trajectory. The conditions that precipitated the events in Egypt are rapidly becoming universal across the globe, spelling another cycle of revolution and possibly war. Eventually these same forces will hit Saudi Arabia, Europe, China, and finally even the United States with the strength of a tidal wave.

Catastrophic Weather Events Are Becoming the New Normal

by Bill McKibben from AlterNet. 

We use fossil fuel because it's cheap, and it's cheap because Exxon Mobil and Peabody Coal get to use the atmosphere as open sewer to dump their waste for free. And today you can see the results of that particular business model from outer space.

Extreme weather is now considered the new normal by ruling class media. They rarely mention it in the same breath with greenhouse gases and catastrophic climate change. So, get use to it people--just suck it up! Nothing must get in the way of the ruling class from feeding its profits addiction.

McKibben is a fine environmentalist, but he fails as a political-economic scientist. He never takes issue with the predatory system of capitalism which fosters the exploitation of workers and the environment for the enrichment of a few. This may be a result of his having spent so many years in academia where indoctrination accompanies skill training. Only those who do not ask any serious questions about the system are allowed to pass through.

 

The Arab Nationalist Reawakening in Egypt and Beyond

by Glen Ford from Black Agenda Report. 

Americans have for so long pretended that Arab nationalism is dead, their corporate media fail to recognize an Arab nationalist rebellion when it breaks out in front of their noses. Arab nationalism is more dangerous than Islamist politics to U.S. imperial hegemony, because “the path to mass mobilization can be direct and democratic, as evidenced by the spread of the Pan-Arab conflagration from the spark in Tunisia only weeks ago.” 

Tunisia's Spark and Egypt's Flame: the Middle East is Rising

by Phyllis Bennis from Foreign Policy in Focus.

Stirrings of popular dissent are already underway in Yemen and Jordan too. All the other U.S.-backed monarchies and pseudo-democracies across the region are feeling the heat. The U.S. empire in the region is crumbling.

This commentator from a liberal think tank provides a useful framework to view the events unfolding in the Middle East, especially in Egypt. 

As many pundits in mainstream media have correctly stated, the events there pose some very difficult problems for the US Empire. Egypt is a kind of lynch pin for the Empire's control of the Mid-East. Also, it must be noted that Zionists exert considerable  influence in the US ruling class. If Egypt were to come under the control of real popular power, it would be very threatening to the Empire.  For both of these reasons, I think it is likely that the Empire's agents will do everything they can to prevent any popular regime coming to power in Egypt. Hence, I see some very volatile days ahead for the Egyptian people. Thus, I do not share the optimistic tone with which this writer concludes her essay.

Mubarak must go

by Lee Sustar from Socialist Worker. 

Certainly, the downfall of a hated dictator would be a fantastic achievement by the Egyptian working class. But transforming the miserable conditions of Egyptian workers--and sweeping aside the ruling class that created and protected Mubarak--will take sustained struggle and the revival of independent working-class organization and politics.